fletnernfandomcom-20200214-history
Gumbaiyo Barkala
The Preadomus Families are organized under the Gumbaiyo Barkala, which translates as “administration rulers”. The Gumbaiyo Barkala is organized in a generally feudal manner, and so too are the crime families. The Barkala sits at the top with the hope that it makes the feudal structure seem more democratic or at least less autocratic. But make no mistake; over-bosses control under-bosses, and under-bosses control neighborhoods. As long as the “taxes” are being passed upwards correctly, everything runs smoothly. Don’t tithe in the correct fashion, and you are likely to be killed. The Barkala currently contains seven members representing the different industries that the ruling Villenetti family handles. Each of the Barkala is paid the same amount of “stipend”. In this way they are all considered equal and share equally in each other’s successes and failures. The previous ruling criminal family in Garnock (the Manszi Family) was organized by neighborhoods, with the bosses in charge of the wealthier neighborhoods getting far wealthier than those in charge of the slums. This caused anger, resentment, and eventually assassinations. Far from being socialistic, the members of the Barkala give each other gifts to thank them for their contributions to the communal funds. Should one of the Barkala gather a new highly profitable business, he should expect expensive gifts from his peers to compensate him for success. When one of the Barkala is ready to try and unseat another, he will typically begin to give inexpensive gifts, which are insulting. In this way, he is challenging the other to a show down. These showdowns can be handled without violence. Perhaps as many as one in four of these show downs results in one of the Barkala retiring and moving away from the city. The other 75% result in assassination or war. Of the seven seats on the Barkala, two are expected to be held by non-Villenettis. In their rise to power, the Villenetti Family asked two families to join them as allies. The Nargooso Family and the Tellurrillo Family agreed to form an alliance with the Villenettis if they had some say in the policy making. Permanently placing a Nargooso and a Tellurrillo on the Barkala served to solidify the alliance. Currently, the Barkala “positions” are: Military Liaison (a political position that works with Steel Plume, but also controls a large number of the enforcers), Populous Chairman (the person who handles the entertainment of the people of Garnock through gambling, prostitution and other means), Integrity Chairman (the person who handles the judges; Steel Plume controls the prisons and various other military forces inside the city), Mystic Scholar (the person who monitors all magical services in the city including the various enchantment factories), Treasurer (the person responsible for monitoring currency exchanges and the High Order of Telepathy), Nargooso Delegate (the representative from the Nargooso Family currently handling many of the manufacturing businesses, including breweries and distilleries), and the Tellurrillo Delegate (the representative from the Tellurrillo Family currently handling most of the housing issues in the city including hotels). The Gumbaiyo Barkala along with their Steel Plume allies control the economy of Garnock. Through the use of various licenses and taxes, they are able to allow or quash businesses and trade itself. This is their true power - economics. While they certainly have troops in the form of policing units, it is their control of the money and the businesses in the city that grant them their true power. Category:Groups Category:Garnock Category:Preadomus